The Dragon's Tooth
by Wildrose504
Summary: Just when Christmas time is closing in, Karissa gets a message from her mother, Athena. Athena warns her that Ares wants to spark a war between the two of them, and to start, he is going after the first dragon tooth, the one that produces the most powerful spartoi warriors. What Athena wants her to do is retrieve the dragon's tooth before Ares can find it. So, Karissa, with four of
1. Chapter 1

Karissa shoved her hands in her pockets as she and her friends trudged through the snow. Winter was always brutal in New York. The air was blistering cold and it didn't help that Kiran was running around, throwing snowballs like her life depended on it. You'd think she'd be a little more mature for a sixteen year old girl. Karissa cursed under her breath as she felt cool water slip through her sock, she chose the wrong day to wear sneakers. She should really start watching the weather channel with her step mother, Autumn. Or at least, spending some more time with her…

"So what are you going to do over break?" Adanna asked, her voice obviously showing she was catching a cold. She was the only one walking next to her really, while Skylar, Alyssa, and Kiran stayed behind and had a mini war.

The five of them were just released from school, walking home for winter break. Christmas… with her extended family. Karissa groaned at the thought.

"I'm sneaking off to Greg's place Christmas day," Karissa sighed, "I'll just tell dad I was at your place, or something."

Adanna pressed her lips together and let her silver grey eyes fall to the ground, "I don't know about that. Your father will probably call my father and…"

Karissa already knew what was bound to happen, "Whatever then, I don't have to tell him anything. I just don't wanna be there at Christmas."

They were both silent for a moment, the only sound to be heard was Alyssa's shrieking as the ice cold snow touched her skin, Kiran's laughing, and Skylar thrashing around.

"Why?" Adanna spoke up.

"Listening to you relatives whisper about you being born out of wedlock?" Karissa said, "No thank you. I'd rather be at Greg's. Not to mention, they'll all be cooing over Carmen to realize my absence."

She exhaled heavily at the thought of her younger sister. She remembered when she first introduced Carmen to Adanna.

'If you guys are sisters, how come she's black?' she had said.

'We're half-sisters," Karissa had replied, choosing to ignore the insensitivity of Carmen's question, "And it's not like the gods give us DNA, I told you about this Carmen. At least we don't have your pale—."

That was all she could make out before Adanna hit her on the arm. Karissa was wise, like a daughter of Athena usually is, but she wasn't the best at keeping her thoughts to herself.

What snapped her out of her thoughts was the fact she and Alyssa should be at the bus stop already.

"Oh gods," she said, "Alyssa, let's go!"

"Hmm," Alyssa got up from the snow, "Oh, the bus!"

"Bye guys!" Karissa exclaimed as she took Alyssa's hand and took off down the sidewalk.

Their friends waved to them as they turned the corner leading to their houses.

The thing was, Alyssa and Karissa's fathers were both successful men. Alyssa's father being the founder of Justin's Jewelers and Karissa's father having created one of the most successful college text book series of their time. So, they both lived in pent houses at the other side of town, rather than the apartment complexes. In order to get home on time, they had to take the bus rather than walking home with their friends.

When they finally arrived (quite late, actually), they walked up the stairs together. They were both on the second floor, just on opposite ends of the hallway.

"Hey," Alyssa said when she stopped at the first door, her home, "Wanna sleepover? We can invite the rest of the girls."

She gave her a sweet smile. Alyssa knew very well that's what she would rather have at the moment.

"Sure!" Karissa replied, "Yeah, let me just tell my dad."

Alyssa gave her a nod before escaping inside. Karissa let out a huff, watching her breath swirl in front of her, then took off down the hall and ran inside her house. As she walked down the hall, she took notice of the little things, as she always did. Instead of just mindless thoughts, she compared the home to her old one in Colombia, when she was just five.

In Colombia, the house had family photos scattered all over the place, some in frames, some pinned up on the wall. Doors open in the heat of the summer, the smell of her abuela's food cooking. Karissa would be outside, playing with the neighbor's children, only for all of them to come inside for lunch. Her dad would be laying down on the sofa, taking notes from his text book, muttering under his breath about how much better it could be.

In contrast, her new home had enlarged photos, tamed and filtered, fitted in decorated golden frames. Karissa and Carmen were sitting in the front in fancy dresses, their hair done to look silky and smooth. Abuela dressed similarly standing by the side, her hand on Karissa's shoulder. Her dad and her step mother Autumn stood behind them. All of them smiled at the camera, and they didn't look too bad.

The contrast in their appearances were amazing. Karissa, her dad, and Abuela had a darker skin tone with dark, chocolate brown hair. It was this appearance that caused the boys in Karissa's school to flirt with her, calling her exotic, as if it was something she should be flattered by.

Autumn and Carmen were the exact opposite, they had pale skin and light auburn hair. Freckles sprinkled both of their faces. When the rest of Karissa's family came by for holidays the first time, they made a comment about why Karissa didn't look like her mother. Before her dad could answer, she cut in, saying that Autumn wasn't her mother, a woman named Athena was. Of course, soon everybody knew Karissa was born out of 'wedlock'. She wanted to tell them that it wasn't like that; she was born out of thoughts, but she couldn't. Not yet anyways.

Karissa rolled her eyes before shaking away the thoughts, and walked all the way down the hall into the living room. She looked to her right where Abuela stood in the kitchen, already preparing dinner.

She didn't even have to turn around to know Karissa was there, "You're home late."

Karissa shrugged and said in a passive voice, "We missed the first bus. Alyssa was playing in the snow."

"Hmmm."

That was the only response she received.

"Where's dad?"

"You've been sitting in the cold for all that time, not even wearing a proper winter jacket. Your sneakers are soaked as well! Take them off, you're ruining the carpeting," Abuela scolded as she dished some soup into the bowls on trays, "Drink, before you catch something."

"Abuela, I'm fine."

"Your father will be down soon too," she continued, continuing to ignore Karissa, "You can talk to him over dinner."

She set down silverware on the trays, "Now help me carry these to the table."

Dinner was never quiet in the house, it was always alive with conversation. Did Karissa engage? For the most part, yes. She did enjoy talking to everybody, and Autumn was pleased by it as well.

Carmen reached across the table to grab a roll, before dunking it in her soup, "Karissa, I have a project over break. Can you help me?"

Karissa gave her a smile, "I'd love to, what's it on?"

Carmen could be a sweetie at times, but other times the little eight year old was a little brat.

She gave her a toothy smile, "We had to choose a country to do research on and I chose Colombia!"

"Nice!" Karissa replied, loving Carmen at the moment.

"So they speak Colombian, right?"

Karissa's smile fell apart. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and the shine in her eyes fell away.

"I'm gonna strangle you."

"Karissa!" her father said, dropping his spoon in his soup from surprise. Everything was so peaceful just a second ago, she didn't blame him.

"Dad, she thinks we speak Colombian," Karissa said, putting stress on 'Colombian'.

"You have to be considerate," Autumn chimed in, "She's only eight."

"When I was eight, I knew Americans didn't speak American," Karissa snorted, "Maybe she should learn how to ask."

When nobody replied, she looked Carmen dead in the eye, "We speak Spanish."

"Okay," Carmen said, before returning to her meal.

It was silent after that, and Karissa couldn't bear it, "Dad, can I got sleep over at Alyssa's? With the rest of the girls?"

He didn't reply for a while. He just lay back in his chair wiping his hands clean and staring at her. That always made Karissa chicken out, and he knew that. She directed her eyes back down to her meal.

"Forget I asked then."

"You know," her father said to her, "How come the girls never sleep over here?"

Karissa slumped in her chair and looked up at the ceiling.

Maybe because I just don't want them to, she thought.

It's not that she was embarrassed about her family, she wasn't. They could all embarrass themselves individually but they could never embarrass her. It's just that she was tired of staying in the house. That was another thing that made it different than Colombia. The door wasn't left open in the summer heat, they had air conditioning for that. Stay inside, be thankful you have technology, she was always told. Yeah, she was thankful for technology, but she would kill just to chill with neighbors. Some people other than her family.

"Your friends are coming over here or no sleepover," her dad said.

They had another one of their staring contests, and this time Karissa stood her ground longer.

"I agree with your father," Autumn put in.

Karissa didn't waste any time adjusting her gaze to Autumn who took in a quick breath from the surprise. Karissa could still recall the memory of when they first met. She had been glaring at her the whole time. When she finally left, she overheard Autumn asking her father why her eyes were such a 'startling grey'. She knew she wasn't supposed to hear it, and she wasn't supposed to care, but she ended up crying to her Abuela about it, who assured her that those stormy grey eyes of hers were beautiful. Even though they weren't that silvery grey of Adanna's, they were still pretty.

"Your friends should come over here for once," Autumn continued, trying to keep her voice firm.

"Whatever," Karissa said as she finished up her food.

Getting up, she said, "I'll go call them up now."


	2. Chapter 2 Teaser (Not Full Chapter)

Karissa rolled over in her bed. She couldn't sleep. At all. She looked around the room to where her friends were sprawled all over the floor, fast asleep. Adanna slept by her side on the bed. The two of them were just close like that. They were basically sisters, and actually, they were. Alyssa and Kiran slept next to each other closely at the end of the room. Skylar was sleeping on a bean bag chair, her soft snoring ringing through the room.

She felt a light spark of envy for her friends, because as tired as she was, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Letting out a light sigh, she rolled over to where her phone was charging. Picking it up, she saw she got a text from Gregory, her boyfriend.

You see, Greg wasn't a demigod. In fact, he was a part of an entirely different world with entirely different gods. The Egyptian gods to be exact. He was a magician, and it wasn't so hard for Karissa to find out he was. Due to her knowledge about magicians from her sister Annabeth's run in with one, and the fact Greg wasn't exactly good at hiding things, she found out soon enough.

The text message read, 'do you think we can meet up tomorrow? Maybe for breakfast or something? I need to talk to you about something important.'

Karissa sent back a quick yes and put down her phone. What was the important thing he wanted to talk to her about? She hated the fact she couldn't see facial expressions, hear the tone of voice, or the body movements he used through text. She'd much rather talk face to face, or at least a phone call. That way she'd be able to decipher what exactly was going on. Unfortunately, Greg knew that, and that's why he always texted.

Karissa let out a huff and squeezed her eyes shut, deciding that she should at least _try_ to get some sleep.

She drifted off much more quickly than expected.

As soon as she was fully asleep, a vision of her mother, Athena, appeared. She was sitting at an oak desk in a white and gold room. A window let golden light come in, illuminating the goddess's face. She wore a simple white toga and had her chocolate brown hair put in a braided bun, a strand fell onto her face and she immediately blew it away.

Her grey eyes were the most intense Karissa had ever seen them and her eyebrows were knitted together as she hastily wrote a letter. An owl was perched on her shoulders, hunched over as if it was trying to read the words as soon as it appeared on the page.

Athena finished her letter and rolled it up. She bound it together and gave it to the owl, who took it in his claws.

"Deliver this to her," Athena said grimly, "And hurry, it's too dangerous for you to even be out here."

The owl flew out of the window in the room and outside to Olympus. Though, Karissa could tell its journey would take it even farther than that.

For a peaceful moment, the wisdom goddess sat and stared after the owl. Just when she was about to get up and attend to other business, her door slammed open, causing her to jump. Ares stomped into the room, his lips were pressed together, fire in his eyes.

Despite the fact that he was gripping his unsheathed sword rather firmly, Athena managed to keep an elegant posture. Her face remained straight and she kept her eyes on the war god's face.

"Another temper tantrum, Ares?"

"I want my dragon's tooth?" He said firmly.

Athena raised her eyebrows and folded her arms, "Oh I gave them back to you _such_ a long time ago Ares, it has been millennia."

Ares face turned red with rage, "You know which tooth I'm talking about Athena."

The goddess' face remained the same, but you could see some color flush from it. For a second, Athena looked almost scared.

"Whatever would you want with that?"

"It was my sacred dragon," Ares said. He began to pace the room, but he never took his eyes off of Athena, "But then you go and give it to that pathetic excuse of a hero—."

"His name was Cadmus!" Athena rebutted, "Brother, listen to me. I gave you all of the teeth."

"Except one," Ares added.

"But…" Athena's voice faltered and she tried to keep her expression calm, "That one isn't even important Ares."

Ares continued to walk around the room. He stopped at Athena's desk and picked up the pen she was using to write with, "Who were you writing to?"

"The sky," Athena said.

Based on the look on her face, she wasn't kidding, and she wasn't being sarcastic. At least, Karissa could tell. Perhaps Ares just pushed it aside, but Karissa wasn't letting this one go. What does 'the sky' have to do with anything?

Ares shook his head, "Whatever… the point is, I want that tooth. That was the first tooth of my dragon, the strongest tooth. It produces the best warriors—."

"And whatever would you need warriors for?" Athena asked.

The god dropped the pen on the table, "To go up against you."

Ares turned and began to walk out of the room. Athena was baffled beyond belief.

"Brother, wait!" she cried.

The goddess walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "What for? I've done nothing."

"My dragon," Ares said.

"That's not it, brother," Athena said, her eyebrows furrowed, "It's deeper than just a dragon."

Ares grunted, "Where are you keeping the tooth, Athena?"

"Like I'd tell you."

The war god snarled as he yanked Athena's hand off of his shoulder, "Fine! I'll just find it myself then. I don't need your help."

With that, Ares stormed out of the room, leaving Athena the most confused she has ever been. She shut the door and walked back over to her desk and sat down.

"Karissa," she started, as if she knew that she had been watching the whole thing. That's when it hit Karissa, that this dream was all intentional. Athena wanted her to be watching, she was already one step ahead of Ares.

"My daughter, I need you to retrieve my dragon's tooth," Athena's face was grim, "Ares doesn't know the exact location, so that will buy you some time. Don't underestimate how clever he is, though."

Athena took in a breath, "The tooth is hidden in Athens. Good luck, child."

She turned so it appeared that she was looking Karissa straight in the eyes, and she slashed through the image, causing the dream to end.

Karissa woke up in a cold sweat. Athens? Why would her mom want her to go to Athens? In such short notice, Ares would be sure to beat her there. That is… if she was going to go. It was Christmas, she should be staying in New York. And then who would accompany her?

The daughter of Athena ran her hands through her hair and looked around the room frantically. What was Ares' problem? She knew he was all about war but taking it this far? What was the point?

She licked her lips, growing impatient of all the unknowns of the situation.

'Camp Half-Blood,' she thought. She needed to go there, now. Karissa grabbed a hoodie from her closet and picked up her phone.

6:57 AM. She better go before the rest of the house woke up. She walked quickly but softly through her room, careful to not wake up her friends. Just when she was about to walk out, she heard a small voice behind her.

"Hey."

She turned around to see Adanna staring at her, eyebrows raised, "Where are you going?"

Karissa cursed in her head, she hadn't realized Adanna wasn't in bed when she walked out. She should've been more observant. Though she felt hesitant to, she still told Adanna the truth.

"Camp Half-Blood," Karissa said.

Adanna squinted at her and took a step forward, "For what?"

"I—," Karissa paused, unsure whether to tell Adanna exactly what happened.

"For something important… I just really need to talk to Chiron."

Adanna began to look even more curious and took another step forward, "Like a dream."

It wasn't a question. Karissa didn't say anything. She didn't want to reveal anything, but the way Adanna was staring at her, she knew she was looking inside of her, finding out everything she wasn't saying. Her silver grey eyes turned a bit stormier, she was one hundred percent focused.

Adanna flicked a braid over her shoulder, "It was a dream."

Karissa looked at the ground.

Adanna rolled her eyes and nodded firmly.

"I'm coming too, let me just go get my jacket and glasses, don't leave."


End file.
